Due to issues with foreign exchange in the country, vehicle imports decreased by 45% in the first quarter of 2024, according to Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service.

Adeniyi noted in a recent interview with Arise Television that the moment was extremely critical for Nigerians and businesses in general as a result of the fluctuation in exchange rates,

“It affected car dealers. We had as much as a 45 per cent decrease in the volume of cars that were brought into Nigeria in that period.

“And they were not the kind of cars that fetched optimum revenue for the customs. Not only cars, but even regular imports were also affected because people could no longer import raw materials as they wanted and the volatility did not allow them to plan for tomorrow,” the CGC stated.

He expressed optimism that things had begun to improve in the second quarter of the year.

“But we see some relative degree of stability in the second quarter because there are lots of discussions going on. Some at the level of the National Assembly, most of them spearheaded by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, bring on the stakeholders that are involved together, to ensure that we achieve stability.”

Adeniyi provided an update on the private jet owners’ verification exercise, stating that since the announcement of the verification, a sizable number of private jet owners have begun to leave Nigeria.

The departing jets, he said, do not want to be confirmed.

He said that hardly many owners have participated in the exercise since it began a few weeks ago.

“Very few of them have shown up for verification and we gathered from intelligence that a good number of them have been leaving Nigeria since the announcement was given because they would not want to be verified,” he asserted.

Adeniyi stated that if an aircraft is going to be operated in Nigeria, the owners must come to Nigeria Customs and pay the customs duty when the aircraft is brought in and registered. The CGC clarified that more private aircraft were operating outside of legal boundaries, which is why the service initiated a private jet owners’ verification exercise.

“We have seen so many of these aircraft flying and our record tends to show that only a few of them have shown up to pay duty and this is why we are bringing this verification up,” he said.

The Chief Government Coop underlined that the purpose of the verification process was to verify who was operating legally and who wasn’t. According to the customs helmsman, one of the main motivators for smugglers is the increase in fuel prices in neighbouring nations.

Uganda Airlines is looking into measures to help local suppliers get a larger share of the $95 million it wants to spend on procurement during the 2024–2025 fiscal year. The funds will be divided between works, services, and supplies.

By the end of 2024, the national carrier anticipates reaching the 700,000 passenger mark thanks to increases in capacity and frequency on important routes. At the airline’s inaugural supplier event this week in Kampala, where local suppliers were briefed on both current and upcoming prospects at the flag carrier, the numbers were revealed.

In the five years that the airline has been in business, local contracts have paid out Ush120 billion ($32.3 million), according to Chief Executive Officer Jenifer Bamuturaki. The database of local suppliers has expanded to 200. She also bemoaned, meanwhile, the difficulties the airline has had maintaining consistency and quality, which has frequently compelled it to import goods that might be made domestically.

According to Ms Bamuturaki, local suppliers must consider being globally competitive for their expansion to assist the carrier’s cargo operations and domestic export market.

The demand for onboard consumables is rising as the airline expands its network and the number of passengers rises, according to her, with 90% of them coming from local vendors.

Uganda Airlines anticipates reporting 480,000 passengers flown during fiscal year 2023–2024, based on preliminary figures. Nonetheless, it is anticipated that there would be roughly 700,000 passengers in 2024.

The network, which currently has 13 destinations, is growing due to up-gauging aircraft on regional routes, increasing frequency on important routes, and network development. The airline expanded its fleet in May by adding a leased A320 with 156 seats.

In addition to making space for additional frequencies, the aircraft has allowed the carrier to meet the increasing demand on routes like Nairobi, Kinshasa, and Johannesburg.

Nairobi, which is now served sixteen times a week, will expand to two flights a week starting in July. That is three flights each day, six days a week, excluding Saturday. There will be six instead of five days per week in Kinshasa, and four more days of double daily flights in Juba, for a total of nine flights per week.

After severing ties with Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam will now run five flights per week instead of just one. Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar will now be combined, with three weekly flights between the two locations.

“We remain committed to working with you to expand the range of products that you can supply on competitive terms. But we also want you to grow with us by transforming into globally competitive companies that can supply quality products not just Uganda Airlines but the global legacy airlines.”

“But you will need to concentrate effort on improving quality across packaging, consistency in taste and supply,” Ms Bamuturaki said.

She further stated that because its suppliers will help fill the cargo capacity, the company—which plans to start a specialized freighter service—sees their success as essential to its sustainable expansion.

She also directed them toward new growth opportunities, such as planting feedstock for energy firms as the first step in the sustainable aviation fuel value chain.